Becoming an Eagle Scout can take 5 years, this West Richland girl did it in 3
A Tri-Cities teen recently became one of only a handful of girls to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. And she’ll have earned the honor by serving her community.
Of the 140,000 young women who joined the Boy Scouts when it opened its ranks in 2019, only 1,000 made the inaugural class of Eagle Scouts last year, according to the organization’s website.
A West Richland 14-year-old has now met the requirements in just three years, compared to the usual five-year average.
Less than 8% percent of Boy Scout members earn the Eagle Scout ranking, and their average age is about 17, according to the organization.
Service project
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Advaitha Motkuri managed to earn all 21 required badges, including one for a community service project.
Looking at the parking lot at the Hindu Temple of Eastern Washington in West Richland, most people saw a place to park their cars. But, Motkuri saw an area that needed a playground for children to use while adults were worshiping.
Motkuri said the worship rituals last one to two hours, and sometimes longer. During that time, children typically go to another room to entertain themselves, which can get boring.
Her vision for a playground would provide a place to keep them occupied, and also help cause less distraction for parents when they become too loud.
She needed to raise money to build the playground, said Boy Scouts of America Scout executive Brett Bybee. When she pitched the idea to families at the temple, they were all for it and donated to her project.
Bybee said she identified a section of the parking lot for the playground before building a fence around the area.
Ranking up
Motkuri is one of the founding members of the first female troop of Boy Scouts of America and received the Eagle Scout rank on June 11. Building the playground counted toward her community service project.
Motkuri, who attends Richland High, said her brother was in Cub Scouts when she was growing up, so was engaged with the organization since she was in first grade.
When she was comparing Girl Scouts to Boy Scouts, she found Boy Scouts more interesting because they built rockets, had car races and had other activities that interested her more.
She would usually go to White Bluffs with her brother to advertise about scouting, and she heard about girls being allowed to scout as well.
She didn’t have a lot of information about scouting until someone approached her and asked if she would be interested.
Then, in February 2019, the troop of girls was finally created, and the unofficial name is Troop 219.
“Before starting, I was a really shy girl who didn’t talk a lot or at all, in some of my classes, they never heard my voice,” Motkuri said. “But ... (scouting has) really taught me how to open up and talk with others more freely.”
Before earning the Eagle Scout rank, she needed to earn 21 merit badges. Bybee said Motkuri worked with counselors to earn specific badges she was required to complete, then was able to choose from 138 badges and find badges that interested her to earn the rest.
“Her father is a scientist at Hanford so she’s very into a lot of the science-related merit badges,” he said. “She’s a very sharp young lady.”
Despite the scientific side of the merit badges, Motkuri said her favorite one to earn was for kayaking.
One of the requirements for the badge was to flip the kayak upside down while underneath it and try to rescue herself with a partner.
“When I did it, I realized that’s what scouting is all about,” she said. “It’s to try new things, to experience stuff you’ve never done before.”
Becoming a leader
Motkuri said her experience with scouting has helped her in many aspects in life, especially in the leadership and communication fields.
“I can effectively be a leader in a way that I can delegate jobs and I can teach rather than do it myself,” she said. “I was really bad at communicating before Scouts, but when you’re a leader, you have to communicate. Communication is key and it works for all aspects in life and scouting.”
The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank someone can achieve in the scouting program, and people even put it on their resumes as adults when they are applying for college and jobs, Bybee said. Moturi will be the fifth girl in her troop to earn the rank.
“Scouting has always been a part of my life,” she said. “I still remember the first meeting, and I can’t believe I’ve come this far, to earning the Eagle rank. I’m very happy and I’m proud to be at this stage.”
Another Eagle Scout
▪ Navaj Nune, 14, of Hanford High School, also recently gained the rank of Eagle Scout.
Nune, with Troop 190, celebrated his achievement at Hillspring Church, Richland where he attended his weekly scout meetings.
This story was originally published June 19, 2022 at 12:15 PM.
